#Earthschooling365: Day Seventy-Five
Inner Work Meditation (Heart): Today I watched five baby bunnies chasing each other around in the grass. To the outside observer it looked as if they were simply having fun but their play has serious underlying reasons. Animals in nature are programmed to play in different ways that reflect survival skills as they grow older. A kitten’s pounce will turn into it’s ability to stalk and attack prey. A bunny’s game of tag will turn into it’s ability to escape from predators. But if you watch each of these young animals they are completely unaware that they are being taught important skills by their parent(s) – they are having so much fun! As teachers and parents how can we bring this same joy to our own children/students? You may already be doing it by providing them with natural and creative toys. Children don’t realize that when they are building a tower with wooden blocks they are learning important math, geometry and life skills – but they are! Take some time today to meditate on what you are already doing to encourage learning in a fun way and what more you can do. If you do not have children or work with children then take this time to apply the same idea to your own life. What skills do you want to learn or goals do you want to accomplish? How can you do this while also having fun?
Nature Walk Idea (Head): Did you know that animal “play” is actually work? Today on your nature walk observe as many animals as you can – birds and/or mammals – and see if you can figure out what kind of skills they are learning from their play. If you cannot observe an animal in nature you can observe an animal in the classroom or home. Domesticated animals retain the same play habits even when they don’t need them to survive in the wild. For example, when your house-cat pounces on string or chases a laser-pen they are actually practicing their stalking and prey-capture skills. In the photo I took below of the baby bunnies playing tag, they are actually practicing the skills they need to escape from predators. Even adult animals will sometimes practice their skills. For example, squirrels often chase and play with each other even as adults. This constant practice helps them avoid dangerous predators they may encounter. What skills can you see today that are being practiced in nature or at home?
Photography Notes (Hands): Today’s assignment is to practice tracking movement with your camera. We have practiced the “quick draw” but today is more about practicing movement tracking in general. In the photo above (of the two bunnies playing) I didn’t have much time to capture their game before they saw me and ran away. Without a lot of time I just took a lot of photos using the “sports” mode and hoped some would turn out. I ended up with some that turned out sharp but my favorite photo (above) did not turn out 100% sharp. One thing I didn’t do carefully when I took the photos was tracking. It is hard 
to do, and does not always turn out perfectly (see above) but it can be very successful (see second photo). Basically, when you see a scene with a lot of action like this one you can capture a moment of the action (see square photo to the left) simply by keeping your camera in one place and snapping the photo with a fast shutter speed. However, if the objects in the photo are moving too quickly in and out of the frame you will need to either predict where they will end up or you will need to move your camera along steadily at the same speed to follow their movement. Today on your walk practice this technique. You can do this in a natural situation or you can stage the situation with a friend or child and have them move around a lot so you can practice tracking them.
Verse: Animal Playtime
Copyright Kristie Burns
Bunny’s play tag in the meadow
And learn to run from a shadow
Kittens love to pounce all day
So learn to catch their prey
Bear cubs swat and tumble
But learn to take a stumble
Wolf pups aren’t always quibbling
They learn to hold on with their sibling
Frolicking the hours away in play
Is an animal’s typical preschool day
*These poems have been created for many purposes – from early childhood circle time verses to inspirational or expressive. They vary from day to day so you may find the way you use them or enjoy them also varies. If you would like to set these poems to music consider our tutorial: Creating Your Ow Waldorf Verses or Finding Your Inner Voice.
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This series takes you through an entire year of our nature walks and is part of our non-profit project #Earthschooling365 at www.Earthschooling.org. The photos and posts in this series are all copyrighted. Please do not share or re-print them. Instead, share the link to this blog with your friends.
Along the way I will be sharing our favorite photo of the day, an inner work meditation for the day, photography assignment/tip for the day, nature walk theme for the day and a short verse for circle time (children) or meditation (teens/adults). We invite you to “walk along with us” this year, take some time to use the inner work meditation, be inspired by the nature walk theme of the day and perhaps even start a photo series of your own. To join the community on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram please tag your photos #Earthschooling365. To receive these inspirations in your e-mail inbox daily please subscribe to our blog alerts HERE. Don’t worry about missing days – you can join us as many days as you want this year!
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